Monday, September 22, 2014

After the high ratings and excited fan feedback NCIS scored after airing its two-episode
arc set in New Orleans last spring, it was clear we had not seen the last of
Special Agent Dwayne Pride, aka “King” (Scott Bakula), or his unorthodox ways
in policing the Big Easy.

“King just loves this town so much, every aspect of it,”
says Bakula, star of the new NCIS: New
Orleans, in explaining what drew him to the character. “The real character
he’s based on, Dwayne Swear, says ‘I don't care how we get it done. I just want to work with the people. I’ll
help them, they’ll help me, and we get it done.’” As Bakula explains, King leads his team, which
includes Special Agents Christopher LaSalle (Lucas Black) and Meredith “Merri”
Brody (Zoe McLellan) and is aided by Jefferson Parish Coronor Dr. Loretta Wade (the venerable CCH Pounder) with an ethos typical of the laid-back city. “We don’t
worry about rules, but we take care of business.’”

As New Orleans
showrunner and captain of the NCIS
flagship Gary Glasberg explains, King is very different from Mark Harmon’s NCIS leader Jethro Gibbs, as he’s “much
more outspoken and emotional, reflecting the different rhythm and energy in
that part of the country.” Glasberg
remembers that in conceiving the spinoff series, he was excited to discover
that New Orleans has a real-life NCIS office, due to the significant military
presence along the Gulf of Mexico.
“There’s so much color and vibrancy in this city, so it made sense to
take some extraordinary characters and tie it all together.”

In television, Jim co-created an original animated pilot for the Disney Channel, and contributed comic material to four annual Oscar-themed comedy specials airing on Comedy Central, hosted by his husband, Frank DeCaro of The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. In 2010, Jim and Frank's comedic music video with Fredrick Ford, "Betty White Lines" went viral, and was featured on The Today Show and CNN's Showbiz Tonight.

Jim has written for entertainment media since his days as the Film Editor for The Daily Pennsylvanian, the college newspaper at the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated with a degree in marketing from the Wharton School of Business. Originally from Wayne, New Jersey, he now lives in Los Angeles with Frank and their mischievous Boston terrier, Gabby.